Night of the Magician
by Saxtus Novashine
Summary: A new foe enters Gotham, using apparently magical talents to pull of impossible jobs and disappearing instantly. Can Batman figure out how to stop a Magician?


"Night of the Magician"

It seemed quiet. It was always thus. Deceivingly quiet. But _he_ knew what it was really like down there. A breeze rustled the fabric of his cape. Silent but swift, the man in black pulled out a small device and pressed a button on the side. A hook followed by line shot out of the end, and without even waiting for it to catch where he knew it would, the Dark Knight leapt off the ledge, down into the deceptively quiet mass that was Gotham.

The gun felt good in his hands. Cold, like his mood. His steps echoed down the alleyway as he marched towards his destination. Beyond him, completely oblivious to his approach, two people walked, laughing. They rounded a corner, and he sped up in the time when they would not be able to see him, rounding the corner seconds later, much closer than before. He kept that cold metal tucked safely in his belt, lest someone else see it before the time was right. The couple appeared to be laughing about a party they had just been to. But he didn't care. He had his own parties to attend. He grinned slightly in the dark, thinking of the hunt. It was not so much a money-making business as the sheer excitement of doing something that others disproved of. Something that would make other ponder on his actions. It was so very exciting! He continued to get closer to the gay couple. The woman had her arm around the mans, and if he hadn't been who he was, he would have been happy for them. But that wasn't who he was. The couple turned into another dark alley, with only two exits. He followed, waiting until they were halfway into the alley before lunging forward and pulling out his gun.

"Turn around." He said, his voice deep and resonant in the alley.

The couple slowly turned around and saw the gun. The woman's mouth curved into an O of fear. The man stared at him, both afraid and protective.

"You know the routine. Standard stickup. Give me all valuable items."

The woman hurriedly took her purse off her arm and threw it towards him, while the man slowly pulled out his wallet. After gesturing to throw it over to him, the man smiled and aimed his gun at the woman's chest.

"I really dislike witness, so if you don't mind…"

He tightened his grip as the woman's eyes widened in fear. His finger pushed the trigger farther and farther back, until it reached the inside of the grip. The bullet rocketed towards the woman, aimed perfectly for her breastbone. A thought crossed his mind, flashing before the bullet hit the woman. Maybe he could go see a movie tonight.

Milli-seconds now before the woman would be dead, and then…the shadows themselves moved to intercept it. A black shadow leapt in front of the woman, and the bullet fell to the ground, flat. Two eyes, piercing the darkness, stared at him, cold as his own. He stared back, and felt fear. Something collided with his hand, knocking the gun out of his grasp, and bruising his fingers. He considered running, but didn't, partly because he was petrified, and mostly because he _knew_ that he wouldn't make it. The blackness surged forward, and he looked upon the emblem of that shadow. A curved bat, wings outstretched in flight. Then he saw a black gauntlet heading towards his nose. It impacted with a crunch, and he staggered back, holding his nose. The shadow stepped forward, confidently, menacingly.

"You chose the wrong town to do this in." a deep voice said from the cowl of the shadow.

The man's mind acknowledged that, just before being knocked out.

The couple sighed audibly when the mugger crumpled to the concrete. The Knight swiftly tied him up and locked his hands in what appeared to be a metal bat.

He barely nodded to them before shooting upwards, towards the moon, and to his next appointment with evil.

Bill the security guard fell backwards in his chair when a huge explosion rocked the bank, the front wall shattering inwards. When he got up, a man in a flowing cloak stood before the opening, his hand raised as if about to knock.

A dozen men in suits ran in, and headed for the vault.

Bill shakily stood up, his gun in hand.

"Don't move!"

The man in robes looked at him, and motioned with his hands. His gun flew out of his hands, and he felt something small land on his chest before being thrown against the wall. He sank to the ground, barely eluding unconsciousness, watching as the man directed his men to blow open the vault door. Once inside, they grabbed everything, and began stuffing it in bags. Police sirens could be heard, getting louder, but the man paid no heed. A police car swung right outside the opening, and two men dashed in, guns at ready. But Bill saw what they didn't. The man gestured to his henchmen, and while inside the vault, they disappeared, all of them…

* * *

He sat in his chair, pretending to be sleeping, his feet on the desk. It was important he acted this way. His secretary dashed in, then saw him, and walked out. He sat up swiftly and brought up the computer. They wouldn't bother him for a while. He was working on a new type of Bat-a-rang, a sonic one that would disrupt magnetic waves and severely damage eardrums, causing thugs to fall to the ground with as little fuss as possible. He only needed to test it a few more times and find a way to stabilize it in flight. After a few seconds of airborne activity, it tended to drift from the weight of the sonic device. A flash lit his peripheral vision.

The familiar shape lit the night, a bat outstretched.

The signal...

He went to a closet, opening it, stepping in, and pulling on first the second hanger, then the eighth. The floor dropped out from underneath Bruce Wayne and he slid down a tube, faster, faster until he dropped into the Batcave, a mile away from his office at Wayne Enterprises.

Alfred was waiting.

"The car is ready sir, but there is a vehicle outside of the Manor so I suggest you take the back way."

"Thank you Alfred."

Bruce stepped swiftly into the vault, and began to change. After the main chest piece and leggings, the boots, the gauntlets, and finally the cape and cowl. He stepped out, and jumped into the waiting Batmobile, already facing the back ramp. The jet engine in the back roared to life, and Alfred looked at the end of the car for less than a few seconds as it roared off towards the Gotham City Police Department.

Jim Gordon waited by the signal, pondering over the newest bizarre crime to happen to his city. His eyes strayed to the light shooting into the sky, calling the only one who could stop another powerful villain.

"I think it needs a new battery." Batman's voice said from behind him. It was the most sarcasm he usually heard from this man.

"Nonsense. You and I both know that thing is good for another twenty years."

He turned to face the hero, a videotape in hand.

"Last night, a man in blue robes robbed Gotham's Third Bank, and eluded the police completely. He was caught on camera, but did not exit any of the doors or side exits from the bank. It's as if he just popped out. The night watchman is unable to talk right now, suffering from several spine injuries."

He handed Batman the tape, who filed it away in one of many pockets in the utility belt.

Batman nodded to the Commissioner, and promptly leapt off the building.

"You'd think I'd be used to that after a few years, but somehow, a man jumping off a perfectly good building still makes me cringe." Gordon said under his breath as he turned off the signal.

Batman drove along Gotham's main street towards Gotham's Third Bank, and played the tape on the Batmobile's screen as he was driving. Gordon's description was almost perfect. The man had blown in the wall, somehow thrown the security guard against the wall without touching him, and had escaped just as mysteriously.

He pulled the Batmobile up to the bank, initiated the armor, and walked inside. The vault had been cleaned out, and the other parts of the bank sealed off while the vault room was left open to the street while the builders figured out how to rebuild the wall. He scanned the room for fingerprints, but found it clean. A small disk by the desk caught his attention though, and after a little examination, it turned out to be a magnet. Very powerful, and equally as small. Standard C4 had been used to blow in the wall, but the camera showed it as though the robber had done it.

"This guy really wants to give people an image." Batman muttered to himself as he perused the vault. After a careful examination, he pushed one part of the vault wall, and sure enough, it fell outwards, into the open alley through a disguised hole in the wall.


End file.
